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Topic Review (Newest First)

02-16-2003 08:40 PM

Buck

The " Time Bomb " comes with any UGF Filter that does not circulate properly.
The whole premice to a UGF is that the water is constantly being "filtered" by the bacteria bed in the substrate.
Even with good water flow through the substrate(front to back of plate) you had to keep the fish mulm vaccumed or it would plug areas in the plate. That build up you get is the Bomb I speak of. If you have ever taken down a tank that has an improperly working UGF you would SMELL what I mean !
There is no bacteria in the world that can catch up to that mess.
So now with a planted tank you have the roots that will take care of such toxic substrate buildups BUT the roots cannot get there because they are bound up by the UGF plate. This can happen very quickly too.
Those 1/2" gaps under the plate now become sealed and very toxic just waiting to be released.
Now one day you decide to "uproot" some old plants and try something new...
Wellguess what ...
you have just released those evil fish killing GASES ! :fire:

I have always used and LOVED UGF's but in the planted world they have no place I have learned.
The only disappointment in my 23 years of fishkeeping is that I didnt plant my tanks all along !

:hehe: :hehe:

02-13-2003 10:45 PM

jart

hmmmm... thanks buck.

though i can't really see why it would be a time bomb. especially if there's no water flow per se. i can't see how it would be much different than, say, some tightly packed rocks.

man i once had a gorgeous tank full of crypts at one time with the filter plate in place. of course, this was probably more of a fluke than anything else.

cannot type any more... keyboard is getting clogged by mdf dust.

buck were you not going to post some pics today?
regards,

jart

02-13-2003 10:36 PM

Buck

You are begging for trouble if use that UGF plate.... hooked up or not in a planted tank.
It defetes the rooting systems of plants and if it isnt hooked up it is a biological time bomb.

Been There ... Done That... Removed That :hehe:

02-13-2003 10:22 PM

jart

before i had some flourite special ordered i was thinking about using laterite. since the tank is already torn down i had considered adding the laterite to the bottom of the tank, then placing an udergravel filter plate over the laterite. i figured the ugf plate would merely serve to hold the laterite in place ie prevent it from clouding the water when moving plants around. anyway i probably won't go this route, but i thought i would post this to see if any of you had any thoughts on whether it might work.

of yeah, the ugf wouldn't actually be hooked up, of course...

02-13-2003 02:07 PM

Rex Grigg

Massoor, get no less than three bags of Flourite. It only comes in 15 pound bags so that is not a problem. Then get 50 lbs of small 1-2 mm gravel. Wash it all, mix it all, put it in the tank. If you want more then add another bag of Flourite. Also put about 4 cups of ground peat moss in the very bottom of the tank. It really makes a difference.

02-13-2003 07:18 AM

aquaphish

If you read on the laterite instructions it indicates to rinse the stuff. You need to get out as much of the fine dust in the package. Laterite is really a mess to use because it is so light and when you disturb the substrate you will have cloudy water for days, especially if you don't rinse it out. That process takes a while. When I used it I placed it in a 5 gal. bucket and just filled the bucket with water. Then you want to lower the water pressure and just trickle it into the bucket so it will overflow slowly. At the same time gently stir up the laterite to release the fine sand and when you have a fairly clear water you can then mix it with some of the gravel. You won't get the rinse water to clear up completley but just get most of the dirt out. But it will give you some Iron content the plant need.

You want to place the laterite/gravel on the bottom and then about 1-1.5 inches of pure gravel on top. That will prevent the laterite from getting into the water column and cloud the water.

You will not have a very clear tank for a few days because there is still some fine dust that you won't remove from the rinse process. But it will clear up with in a few days and sometimes a few weeks. I would also make weekly water changes to help the clearing process.

02-13-2003 01:57 AM

Massoor

So for my 55gal what would be just about perfect? how many bag of flouride(what size too?) and how much gravel? i lookingf or to buy some natural gravel. thanks a bunch

02-13-2003 01:32 AM

Rex Grigg

Massoor you are going to need a lot more than 50 lbs of gravel. I used three bags of Flourite and about 40-45 lbs of gravel in my 55 and I wish I had gotten four bags of Flourite. I mixed my gravel and Flourite and love the look of it. Flourite comes in 15 lb bags so plan on at least three bags. You can mix Flourite with gravel up to a 50/50 ratio. But it's not based on weight but on volume.

02-13-2003 01:28 AM

mitche8359

Ok what I was doing was basically the same but I also stirred it around the bucket as if I was panning gold. I still haven't added any to the tank. I just located some sand that I used for making a potting mix. I don't think it's play sand, most likely sand for mortar. Anyone know if it makes a difference? I finally got some fert sticks at lunch so I'm going to work on the substrate tonight.

02-13-2003 12:43 AM

Massoor

I getting confused.. I have a 55gallon tank, thus I would need 50 piunds of gravel(more or less). I plan on having it planted but nmot to densely because this being my first tank ever. Should i use only flourite for the substrate? OR should i buy one 25lb bag of flourite and one 25lb bag of gravel?

P.S would i mix the too, or just put one on bottome and other on top like in a layer fashion?

02-12-2003 09:50 PM

Rex Grigg

I put half a bag in a Rubbermaid tub. I use a hose end sprayer, the older brass type that you adjust by turning the body. I get a good spray going with it and just rinse the Flourite that way. I use the water pressure to keep it moving. I rinse till the tub is full then pour out the water, being careful not to lose the fines. Then I repeat. With normal Flourite I can usually get the stuff clean enough to use in three passes.

02-12-2003 09:27 PM

SNPiccolo5

I meant laterite when I said laterite and flourite when I said flourite.

Rex, what do you mean don't stir flourite when rinsing? Maybe I missed something, but I don't get how to rinse it otherwise....

-Tim

02-12-2003 03:13 AM

Rex Grigg

Flourite here. But I would guess that rinsing Laterite would be a real chore. Wash it out, let it dry, repeat.

02-12-2003 01:28 AM

mitche8359

Buck, yeah I wrote flourite when I meant laterite. Too many ites dancing around in my head.

Is everyone else talking about flourite or laterite?

02-11-2003 11:31 PM

Rex Grigg

The mistake most people make when rinsing Flourite is stirring or shaking it too much. I use water pressure to agitate it when I rinse it and it comes clean very quickly. Now if I were to start stirring it or otherwise pounding on it then it would take forever to rinse clean. I know, I made that mistake a long time ago.

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